Snoring, tiredness are signs of dangerous sleep apnea

Instruments show a flatline in a breathing pattern, followed by the patient's waking up to start breathing again. (Mark Lambie/ElPaso Times)

Enrique Menchaca Jr. was well on his way to becoming another statistic.

For 10 years, the 41-year-old El Paso sous chef would sleep eight to 10 hours a night but still wake up exhausted. "I was tired all the time," Menchaca said.

"I had a fever, and the doctor checked my tonsils and he told me I had some really big tonsils. He asked if I had a sleeping problem, and my wife said yes. I knew I snored, but I didn't think it was that bad."

He went to the Sierra Providence Sleep Disorders Center, where he was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. People with apnea stop breathing for short periods during sleep, and they have a greater risk of sudden cardiac death.

"I exercised a lot," Menchaca said. "I thought it was normal. I have high blood pressure, so I was taking pills for that."

His snoring was so loud that he and his wife slept in separate rooms.

"It was so bad that I had to turn on the fan and the TV and close the door and I could still hear him through the wall," Erica Menchaca said. "It was scary. I knew he wasn't sleeping at night because he would snore and then he would stop for a few seconds to try to catch his breath. He would wake himself up. I can't believe we waited so long to get him tested."

In that time, 142 patients died from sudden cardiac death. The most common predictors were an age of 60 or older, 20 or more apnea episodes per hour of sleep, and an oxygen saturation below 78 percent during sleep.

"Nobody should snore. If you snore, it's definitely abnormal. Studies show if you snore, you have a higher chance to have high blood pressure and a higher chance to have a stroke."

Sleep apnea creates several problems, including long interruptions of breathing during sleep, frequent waking from sleep (even though you may not realize it) and light sleeping.

People with obstructive sleep apnea sleep lightly to try to keep their throat muscles tense enough to maintain airflow. That can strain the heart.

"When males snore, they obstruct the airway, and when they obstruct the airway, you can stop breathing for a few seconds and your oxygen drops," Diaz said. "When this happens, the brain senses that you are not breathing and wakes you up."

Sleep studies at Sierra Providence Sleep Disorders Center take place at night in private rooms where the brain waves, eye movement, heart rate, oxygen level and breathing patterns are monitored and recorded.

"If you've tried to treat your hypertension and can't get your blood pressure down, we need to do a sleep study," said Joseph Arteage, the clinical coordinator at the sleep center. "If your neck is over 17 inches, you need a sleep study. If you just got diagnosed with diabetes, you need a sleep study."

People who have been diagnosed with sleep apnea are often fitted for a CPAP -- a continuous positive airway pressure mask. The mask uses mild air pressure to keep the airways open during sleep.

CPAP treatment involves a CPAP machine, which has three main parts: a mask or another device that fits over your nose or your nose and mouth (straps keep the mask in place while you're wearing it); a tube that connects the mask to the machine's motor; and a motor that blows air into the tube.

"There was a study where a patient with diabetes whose blood sugar level was registering at 200 (normal is 70 to 100 in the morning or 135 to 150 after a meal), without any change except treating the sleep apnea with a CPAP, it went from 200 to 120 without a change in medicine or exercise," Diaz said. "You can control diabetes much better with the use of the CPAP."

Diaz, who opened the first sleep disorders center in El Paso with Dr. David Brines in 1985, said the most common cause of hypertension is sleep apnea.

"When the patient wakes up and they don't feel well, it could be because they didn't sleep well," Diaz said. "Anybody who wakes up unrefreshed or who feels tired and sleepy during the day or anybody who wakes up with a headache in the morning or has a hard time losing weight, it could be related to a lack of sleep."

Erica Menchaca said her husband's sleep apnea was affecting the entire family.

"I feel like we're a married couple now because we are sleeping in the same bed again, the way it should be," she said. "He is much better. He doesn't make a sound at all."

She said the family's quality of life has vastly improved, especially for the couple's two daughters, Madison, 7, and Bella, 3.

"He doesn't come home and fall asleep on me anymore," she said. "Now he helps out around the house, and that's important for me. He has enough energy at the end of the day to play with his girls, so they win, too."

Common sleep apnea symptoms include:

--Waking up with a very sore or dry throat.
--Loud snoring.
--Occasionally waking up with a choking or gasping sensation.
--Sleepiness or lack of energy during the day.
--Sleepiness while driving.
--Morning headaches.
--Restless sleep.
--Forgetfulness, mood changes and a decreased interest in sex.
--Recurrent awakenings or insomnia.